For the first time since 2016, the Toronto Blue Jays are hosting a game in the American League Division Series.

To add to the uniqueness of today’s game, it will mark the first time that the Blue Jays and the New York Yankees are facing each other in playoff baseball. It’s a matchup that seems fitting after the two teams finished the 2025 regular season with an identical record of 94-68, with a season series won by the Blue Jays serving as the tie-breaker.

Toronto finished the regular season with an 8-5 record against the Yankees this season, outscoring them 70-59 in those games. Playing at home was an advantage to either team; the Blue Jays only lost to New York once at home this season in seven games at the Rogers Centre, while the Yankees were 4-2 in games played at Yankee Stadium.

Starting today’s game for the Blue Jays will be their staff ace from this season in Kevin Gausman. The 34-year-old Colorado native, who fell just seven innings shy of a 200-inning season, will be making his third postseason start as a member of the Blue Jays. Gausman owned a 10-11 record this season, pitching to a 3.59 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and an 8.8 K/9.

Gausman rounded up the second half of his season in stellar fashion, posting a 2.81 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and a 5.31 K:BB ratio over his final 13 starts. It was an extremely encouraging finish for Gausman, who said back in spring training that he felt a “night and day” difference between this year’s spring training and last year’s. That feeling can be seen in some of his underlying numbers with a higher whiff rate on his splitter, a little bit more consistent fastball velocity, and an increased chase rate overall between ’24 and ’25.

Gausman faced the Yankees four times this season, allowing 10 earned runs over 22 2/3 innings with 18 strikeouts and 12 walks. While those don’t seem like dominant numbers, most of those runs and walks came from his April 27th start against them when he threw 53 pitches in the third inning. During his final three starts against the Yankees this year, he allowed just four earned runs over 20 innings with 16 strikeouts and seven walks.

Given he’s been with the Blue Jays for four years already, Gausman has built up a substantial sample size against several of their hitters. Aaron Judge (.354 batting average, 6 homers, 12 RBIs) and Giancarlo Stanton (.333 batting average, 4 homers, 6 RBIs) have had the most success against him, with Ryan McMahon and José Caballero also hitting over .300 in smaller sample sizes.

The Yankees will be countering with Luis Gil, a 27-year-old righty who has pitched parts of four seasons with the club, including a Rookie of the Year award last season. Gil missed the first several months of this season with a right lat strain, and he wound up making just 11 starts between August and September. In those starts, Gil owned a 3.32 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and 6.5 K/9.

Looking a little deeper into Gil’s numbers, there are multiple opportunities for the Jays to gain an advantage this afternoon. Gil’s strikeout rate was down 10% between this year and last, and for a team in Toronto that posted the second-lowest number of strikeouts this season, that should be music to their ears. Walks have been an issue for Gil this season, as well as his entire career. He led the majors in free passes last season, and he issued 33 in just 57 innings this season. Despite the above, holding a 3.32 ERA with all that amount of traffic on the base paths is respectable.

While there isn’t too big a difference between how lefties and righties have performed against Gil this season, there is a noticeable difference in his home/road splits. In five road starts this year, Gil has a 4.38 ERA with a 1.50 WHIP. His outings on the road have averaged just under five innings per start, so if there’s a chance to get to New York’s troublesome bullpen early, the Jays have to take advantage of it.

Gil faced the Blue Jays just once this season during a September 6th tilt in the Bronx. He allowed just one earned run on three hits over six innings, including four walks and one strikeout. No one on the Blue Jays roster has more than eight career at-bats against him; however, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3-for-7, two doubles, three walks) and Anthony Santander (3-for-7, one walk) have hit him the best.

Facing a righty, the Blue Jays aren’t deviating from how they constructed their lineup in this situation from the regular season, with George Springer, Nathan Lukes, and Guerrero leading things off. Santander will hit seventh and play in left field, while Andrés Giménez will play shortstop as Bo Bichette continues to nurse a knee injury.

Location: Rogers Centre – Toronto, ON

First Pitch: 4:08 PM EST

Watch/Listen: FOX, Sportsnet / Sportsnet 590 The Fan, ESPN Radio

Toronto Blue Jays – Kevin Gausman: 10-11 record, 3.59 ERA, 193 IP, 189 SO, 50 BB

New York Yankees – Luis Gil: 4-1 record, 3.32 ERA, 57 IP, 41 SO, 33 BB